30 Gnomish Industrial Weapons For D&D 5e18 min read

Gnomish Industrial Weapons. One part steampunk, one part mage, and one part redneck, Gnomes have captured the imagination of many a worldbuilder. After my post on Evil Overlord Lairs I wanted to make some new weapons for Dungeons & Dragons, D&D 5e specifically, that fit with my homebrew world of Yridia, where reclusive mountain Gnomes hide a latent post-cataclysmic industrialism. Occasionally, their recon and expeditionary forces encounter adventuring parties! Not intended for normal vendors or perfect game balance, Dungeon Masters can use these items against D&D players, or let them access some as unique magic weapons.

Also, I’d like to give a huge thank you to my good friend Adam Z. for collaborating on these wacky wonders, he drafted several of the items and assisted throughout in both content and voice. Thanks Adam!

Let’s take a look at the gadgets Big Gnome doesn’t want you to know about!

#1: BOLABLINADE CANISTER!

This single-use hand canister projectile combines the ranged weapon functions of a net, blinding powder, and concussion grenade, forcing any target in a 5-foot square to save against all three effects. Large or smaller creatures hit receive the Restrained condition until freed; the net component impacts neither formless nor Huge or larger creatures. A creature can make a DC 12 Strength check to try to free itself from the net. If the net suffers 6 slashing damage (AC 12), it no longer restrains the creature. The blinding powder aspect causes a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to any target with open eyes, inflicting 1 Piercing damage and the Blinded condition on a failure. This condition lasts until the creature spends a round cleaning their eyes. Finally, the concussion grenade aspect causes 1d4 Thunder damage and a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, inflicting the Deafened condition for 1d6 rounds on a failure.Damage: 1d4 Thunder + 1 Piercing.Weight: 5 lbs.Properties: Ranged, Thrown.Range: 15/45 ft.

#3: COMBAT CURRENT APPLICATRON!

Magnetically affix this tiny standalone module to any metal weapon to cause a current to flow through it, causing the weapon to deal 1 additional Lightning damage on each strike! As a Free Action, the user can press the a button on the device, causing it to overcharge. For 5 rounds, the Lightning damage increases to 1d4, but then needs a day to recharge before it can supply current again. While overcharged, resonant static electricity causes the wielder’s hair to stand straight up and hover.Damage: +1 Lightning, or +1d4 Lightning.Weight: 1 lb.Properties: Module.

#4: COMBUSTION MACE 2.0!

Our single-use Combustion Mace allows you to bring the power of EXPLOSIONS into YOUR MELEE COMBAT! Our competitors say it’s just a grenade on the end of a stick, but it is so much more than just a grenade at the end of a stick. For one thing, it’s a really long stick, allowing you to strike targets up to 10 feet away! For another, it has a metal plate meant to deflect some of the explosion, giving you Advantage on the DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to avoid taking the 4d10 points of Fire damage everything within a 15 foot blast radius will enjoy! A DC 15 Dexterity saving throw reduces this to half-damage.Damage: 4d10 Fire.Weight: 5 lbs.Properties: Finesse, Reach.Range: 10 ft.; 15 ft. blast radius.

#5: DRILLSPEAR!

Not your average spear, this weapon’s spearhead features a high-power, high-stability pneumatic compensator motor, allowing it to function as a drill! If the target has armor, the wielder may forgo damage to instead inflict a permanent armor decrease, reducing their AC by 1 (but never below their unarmored AC). Also, it can Drill Right Through bricks, rocks, wood, and the like. And it comes with flathead, crosshead, and hexagonal bit attachments! Drill component takes 10 minutes to charge daily, considered above-average.Damage: 1d6 (1d8) Piercing + 1 Magic.Weight: 5 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Thrown, Versatile.Range: 20/60 (thrown).

#6: ELECTRIC ARC STAFF!

Picture a compound bow, but backwards, and with a string made of lightning. Real lightning! Functionally a Quarterstaff, which must come as no shock.Damage: 1d6 (1d8) Lightning + 1.Weight: 5 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Versatile.

#7: ELECTRO-CALTROPS!

You know what Caltrops need? Lightning! As an Action, you can spread a single bag of these to cover a 5-foot-square area. Any creature that enters the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving and take 1d4 Piercing plus 1d4 Lightning damage. Until the creature regains at least 1 hit point, its walking speed reduces by 10 feet. A creature moving through the area at half-speed doesn’t need to make the saving throw.Damage: 1d4 Piercing + 1d4 Lightning.Weight: 2 lbs.

#8: ELECTRO-SMACK STUN-BRACELET 700!

A simple flick of the wrist allows this fashionable but minimalist bracelet to deliver several thousand volts with a simple slap. Does not apply to backhand – ONLY FRONTHAND SLAPS WILL DELIVER THE VOLTAGE. Upon a successful melee attack, the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take several thousand volts straight to the kisser, and be afflicted with the Stunned condition for one round! A successful save results in half damage, and no Stun. Takes 1 day to recharge. If underwater or soaking wet, the user also receives the effect!Damage: 3d10 Lightning.Weight: 1 lb.

#9: EXPLOSIVE-TIPPED OVERCOMPENSATORS!

Hey, you! Is your tip not EXPLOSIVE ENOUGH? Do you SHOOT THINGS and wish they would BLOW UP instead of bleeding a bit and then staying together all BORINGLY? Well LOOK NO MORE! We’ve got EXPLOSIVE TIPS for your ARROW, your BOLT, or your JAVELIN. Explosive tips still do ALL THE NORMAL DAMAGE of your projectile, but then EXPLODE, damaging EVERYTHING WITHIN 5 FEET! A bit unwieldy, they do impose a -2 penalty on attacks.Damage: Inherited, plus 4d4 Fire.Weight: 0.5 lbs.Properties: Module.Range: Inherited.

#10: FLAIL IN A CUP!

This well crafted Flail can stow away in the cup built into the handle for easy storage! Additionally, the user can attempt to play the age-old game of Ball-in-the-Cup to alleviate boredom. Winning the game (DC 22 Dexterity Check) provides the user with a deeply-rooted sense of accomplishment that will never truly fade.Damage: 1d8 Bludgeoning + 1 Magic.Weight: 2 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon.

#11: GEARBLADE!

This blade appears to be a crescent half of a large, flat gear, and a lever protrudes from one end, serving as a handle. It functions as a +1 Shortsword and each attack can deal either Piercing or Slashing damage. User’s choice!Damage: 1d6 Piercing or Slashing + 1 Magic.Weight: 2 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Light.

#12: GNOMISH COMBUSTION PREEMPTIVE EXTINGUISHER!

This tiny device can be discharged 3 times as an Object Interaction before expiration! Each time, it blankets an area no greater than a 20 foot square with powerful anti-combustion powder sprayed at powerful pressures, preemptively defending against combustion! Each 5-foot square negates the next Fire damage within it. You can even strap it to things!Weight: 1 lbsProperties: Module.

#13: HARPOON-GUN GRAPPLE LAUNCHER!

This heavy pneumatic hybrid melee-ranged weapon works well for when you really need to give your enemy THE POINT. It resembles a grafted together Trident and Heavy Crossbow, bearing the ability to fire its chain-attached Trident at foes or objects alike once per Long Rest. If used in melee, it has a 1d8 base, but as a ranged attack uses a 2d6 from its powerful propulsion. Additionally, corporeal creatures struck this way suffer the Grappled condition. Creatures may attempt a DC 15 Strength check to remove the prongs as a normal action, or a DC 18 Strength check to break the magic chain.

What’s more, this weapon bears a second trigger that rewinds the pulley and chain, useable as an Object Interaction once per Long Rest, which pulls the launcher and its projectile back together. This can function as a grappling hook if the end has implanted itself securely in a stable, weight-bearing object. Or, it can draw the user toward a foe currently Grappled by the ranged attack. Make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) check; the winner pulls the loser up to the 20 foot distance toward them. The wielder can gradually wind the pneumatic pump mechanism as part of a Long Rest to recharge the firing and retrieving systems.Damage: 1d8 (2d6) Piercing + 1 Magic.Weight: 20 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Ammunition, Heavy, Hybrid, Grappling, Loading, Two-Handed.Range: 20 ft.

#14: HERBAL COMBAT VAPORIZER 89D!

This handheld device allows the user to vaporize and inhale a variety of herbs or oils with much greater efficiency and improved effects on lung and throat health than a simple analog pipe! Additionally, once per day, the user can overcharge the vaporizer to cast Fog Cloud on an adjacent location. WARNING: DOING SO WILL RESULT IN A HIGHER THAN RECOMMENDED DOSAGE OF HERBS AND/OR OILS, NOT SANCTIONED BY THE TINKERTOWN SAFETY ADMINISTRATION!Weight: 0.5 lbs.Properties: Pretentious.

#15: HOOKED HAMMER!

This hefty but perfectly balanced +1 Warhammer has a hook on one hand and a hammer on the other, inflicting either Bludgeoning or Piercing damage depending on which way it faces when you SMASH YOUR ENEMIES WITH IT. In addition, it contains dual, spring-loaded interior coils and cables inside its interior. Once per Short Rest, as a Free Action or Reaction, the user can flick a switch in the handle and launch the spring-loaded hook end like a grappling hook, allowing 20 feet of instant movement in any direction where the launched hook can secure itself to a stable, weight-bearing object. If it instead hits a creature, it deals 1d4 Piercing damage.Damage: 1d8 (1d10) Bludgeoning or Piercing; or 1d4 Piercing Damage.Weight: 7 lbs.Properties: Versatile, Ranged.Range: 20 ft.

#16: MAGNETIC CHARGE-O-MATIC!

It looks like an aluminum baseball with a yellow button on top. At the press of a button, the ball glows, emitting a magnetic field 10 feet in diameter that lasts two combat rounds and repels any metal objects within ten feet. It takes one day for enough charge to accumulate for use.Damage: 1d8 (1d10) Bludgeoning or Piercing; or 1d4 Piercing Damage.Weight: 3 lbs.Properties: Adventurous.

#17: MERCURIAL GREATSWORD!

Do you want to combine brawn AND brains? Or use your brawn to remove someone ELSE’S brains??? Try this ginormous Greatsword, which holds a touch of alchemy! The Mercurial Greatsword has a quicksilver reservoir inside it, making for mightier swings as the mercury flows toward the end. On an attack roll of 1, the reservoir bursts and spills the quicksilver; all creatures within a 5 foot radius must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw against Quicksilver Poisoning or else gain Disadvantage on all Intelligence checks and saves until they receive a Lesser Restoration. Following that, this weapon functions as a mundane Greatsword until repaired.Damage: 2d8 Slashing + 1 Magic.Weight: 12 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Heavy, Two-Handed.

#18: OILSPRAY MODULE!

A simple and slick standalone module that easily straps onto weapons, shields, or vehicles! As an Object Interaction, the user can cast the Grease spell once per Long Rest. A 10-foot square within range becomes difficult terrain for 1 minute, and any creature immediately standing in, entering, or ending a turn in this area must pass a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. Combines well with flaming weapons for 1d4 Fire damage each round in a 10-foot square, using the earlier save qualifiers.Damage: potentially 1d4 Fire.Weight: 2 lbs.Properties: Module.Range: 60 ft.; 10-ft. square.

#19: REPEATING LIGHT CROSSBOW!

This crossbow SPITS IN THE FACE of the Loading property by allowing you to fire it as many times as you have attacks, plus one more as a Bonus Action! The user can reload the Bolt magazine using its pneumatic compressor crank during a Short or Long Rest. On attack rolls of a 1, the weapon jams until the following day. Comes with either a 10-Bolt Magazine used for hunting & self-defense, or a black market 20-Bolt Magazine currently banned by the Tinkertown Safety Administration.Damage: 1d8 Piercing + 1 Magic.Weight: 11 lbs, plus Magazine.Properties: +1 Weapon, Ammunition, Cheatloading, Heavy, Two-Handed.Range: 80/320 ft.

#20: ROCKET BATTLEAXE / WARHAMMER / WARPICK!

Upon first glance this weapon appears normal, albeit stylistically overdone and with a single-sided head bearing a counterweight. The dutiful inspector will however note an exhaust port in the counterweight, and an insert point below the handle with a trigger on the grip. This dangerous implement can swing horizontally or overhead at a reckless velocity accelerated by the combustive release of flame, which the user must avoid; an attack roll of a 1-3 and the user sustains 1d4 Fire damage. Rocket weapons can also spray 2d4 Fire damage in a 10-foot cone using an Object Interaction, once per Long Rest.Damage: 1d10 (1d12) + 1 Magic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing inherited; potentially 1d4 or 2d4 Fire.Weight: 6 lbsProperties: +1 Weapon, Versatile.Range: 10-ft cone for spray.

#21: ROTARY FAN SWORD!

A propeller mechanism at the end of a long steel rod houses finely-crafted Elven steel blades. The user holds the rod with one hand and cranks with the other. A successful hit inflicts Bleeding if the target has bodily fluids best left on the inside. A Bleeding target takes 1d4 damage at the beginning of each turn until it regains 1 point of health.Damage: 1d12 + 1 Magic; potentially 1d4 recurring Bleeding.Weight: 5 lbsProperties: +1 Weapon, Reach, Two-Handed.Range: +5 ft.

#22: ROTARY RECIPROCATING LANCE!

Picture the hand-cranked gatling gun, but instead of barrels, it has reciprocating lances! Deals 2d4 Piercing damage if used freehand, or 4d4 Piercing damage if mounted on an axle and wheels (which requires moving as Difficult Terrain). If a user has multiple attacks per round, each additional attack with this weapon per round inflicts a level of Exhaustion. This weapon does not work in mounted combat without axle and wheels.Damage: 2d4 or 4d4.Weight: 20 lbs unmounted.Properties: Heavy, Reach, Special, Two-Handed.Range: +5 ft.

#23: SEDATIVE WHIP!

This whip possesses a pouch of foul-smelling chemical compounds on its live end. On a Critical Hit, its attacks also inflict the Paralyzed condition for 1-round against any corporeal creature.Damage: 1d4 Slashing.Weight: 4 lbsProperties: Finesse, ReachRange: +5 ft.

#24: SHIELD CART!

The Shieldcart, a tall, spiked shield attached to a reinforced stroller, occupies its own 5-foot square and functions as three-quarters cover. It has a small receptacle to hold projectiles and a glass window in the shield with a sliding metal door, as well as a doored slit for arrows, blades, and the like; the user makes attacks with Disadvantage without the window open. The front axle also allows for the user to lower the shield and have it act as a rudimentary plow or scoop, which if used in combat with the Special Melee Attack: Knock Prone action, grants Advantage on the roll and +1 Piercing damage.Damage: potentially +1 Piercing.Weight: 50 lbs.Properties: Heavy.Range: +5 ft.

#25: SPEZNET RAPIER-LAUNCHING RAPIER / LANCE-LAUNCHING LANCE!

This painstakingly balanced rapier comes equipped with an explosive charge in the hilt! Pulling the trigger installed in the handguard activates it, firing the blade and hilt of the rapier at your target at sonic speeds! Make a melee attack with a range of 30/60 feet. If it hits, the attack automatically counts as a Critical Hit! But, its projectile cannot be recovered. Also available as a Lance.Damage: 1d8 Piercing + 1 Magic; potentially Auto-Crit.Weight: 3 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Finesse, Light.Range: 30/60 ft.

#26: STEAMING GREATAXE / MAUL!

This weapon bears a well-insulated handle yet still feels warm to the touch. Once per Short or Long Rest, the user can torque the handle and upon a successful strike on a target the weapon releases a blast of steam, attempting to inflict the Blinded condition with a DC 16 Constitution saving throw to negate.Damage: Inherited, plus 1 Magic.Weight: Inherited, plus 3 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Heavy, Two-Handed.

#27: SWITCH-AXE 6000!

Have you ever needed to keep your large murder weapon discreet? Well look no further! Our spring-assisted Switch-Axe 6000 folds neatly into this 1 foot long plank of wood! Simply press the button for the spring-assisting mechanism to open the axe, which will then lock into place. So surprising in fact, your first attack with it gains Advantage! We exquisitely balance our products to ensure maximum efficiency.Damage: 1d8 (1d10) Slashing + 1 Magic.Weight: 5 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, Versatile.

#28: TELESCOPING-AXE 2000!

This axe bears a telescoping handle. Once per turn as an Object Interaction, the user can set the handle to one of 3 positions, transforming this item into a simple Handaxe, a Versatile Battleaxe, or a Two-Handed Greataxe! The balance point for each position has careful honing.Damage: Inherited, plus 1 Magic.Weight: 5 lbs.Properties: +1 Weapon, potentially Light, Heavy, Two-Handed, Versatile.Range: Inherited.

#29: TRENCH TROWEL!

This wicked dagger has a cruel, triangular-profile blade that inflicts the Bleeding condition on a successful hit to targets that have bodily fluids best left on the inside! A Bleeding target takes 1d4 damage at the beginning of each turn until it regains 1 point of health. Also useable as a trowel.Damage: 1d4 Piercing + 1 Magic; potentially 1d4 recurring Bleeding.Weight: 1 lb.Properties: +1 Weapon, Digging, Finesse, Light, Thrown.Range: 20/60 ft.

#30: VIBROBOX MODULE!

This standalone module comprised of a tiny box and switch can affix to any melee weapon’s working end, and, with a Free Action, causes intense vibration, dealing 1 additional Bludgeoning damage on each strike until turned off. It may also have off-label uses!Damage: Inherited, plus 1 Bludgeoning.Weight: 0.5 lbs.Properties: Module.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed these Gnomish Industrial Weapons for D&D 5e, I know I did. If you liked this article, please share it, and let me know in the comments what you would add or change. I publish new posts each Tuesday, and in the meantime, I post original D&D memes daily over on my site’s Facebook Page and Twitter. Also, to stay updated on all my posts, check the bottom sign-up widget for email notifications. Thanks as always to my Patron on Patreon, who helps keep this project running: Rudy. Thanks for the support, Rudy! Feel free to join him!

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